This DVD is Not Rated
I thought I would continue with the music theme. Today it is a live performance DVD by AFI filmed at Long Beach Arena in Southern California. It was recorded a few months after the release of their 7th studio album “Decemberunderground” (which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Charts).
They also happen to be my favorite band. I discovered them in 2003 when they released “Sing the Sorrow”. I happened across their “Hard Rock Live” performance on MTV, found I loved the music and I was absolutely mesmerized by Davey’s stage performance (not to mention his gorgeous long black hair he had at that time). When he did a forward flip from the stage into the crowd (yes, they caught him) I was completely hooked.
I eventually checked out their back catalog and discovered that I liked the earlier stuff too. So I am the proud owner of all their studio albums to date.
Current Members of AFI Are:
Davey Havok – Vocals
Adam Carson – Drums
Hunter Burgan – Bass
Jade Puget – Guitar
AFI was formed in 1991 while the members were still in high school. Davey, Adam and two other guys they went to school with in Ukiah, California decided to form a band. They had one small problem though; nobody knew how to play any instruments. Davey could sing so at least that was covered; now everyone else had to pick an instrument and learn how to play it.
They were originally a hardcore punk band. Now they are more mainstream punk, with some hardcore undertones. The evolution of their sound came from experience, as well as, changes in the line up. The current members have been in place since 1998. With Davey writing the lyrics and Jade writing a lot of the music.
Here is the set list:
Prelude 12/21 (Decemberunderground)
Girl’s Not Grey (Sing the Sorrow)
The Leaving Song Pt. II (Sing the Sorrow)
Summer Shudder (Decemberunderground)
Kill Caustic (Decemberunderground)
The Days of the Phoenix (The Art of Drowning)
Endlessly, She Said (Decemberunderground)
A Single Second (Shut Your Mouth & Open Your Eyes)
The Missing Frame (Decemberunderground)
Bleed Black (Sing the Sorrow)
Silver and Cold (Sing the Sorrow)
Dancing Through Sunday (Sing the Sorrow)
This Time Imperfect (Sing the Sorrow)
Death of Seasons (Sing the Sorrow)
Totalimmortal (All Hallows EP)
Love Like Winter (Decemberunderground)
God Called in Sick Today (Black Sails in the Sunset)
Miss Murder (Decemberunderground)
They performed songs from six of their CDs. However, the majority are from the two most recent. AFI knows how to put on a show, they get the audience involved and it ends up being a big group sing-a-long. They pay attention to the details of stage presentation also. For example, having a color theme. In this case, almost everything is white, including their clothing, instruments, microphones, risers and confetti.
Davey, Jade and Hunter all know how to work the stage and are in almost constant motion. With lots of jumps, spins, kicks and microphone twirling. Hunter and Jade also have some interesting playing techniques. During “God Called in Sick Today” Davey even does a crowd walk, something he is known for.
Nick 13 (singer, songwriter and guitar player from Tiger Army) makes a surprise guest appearance during “A Single Second” and provides backup vocals. Nick 13 has done backup vocals on some AFI CDs and Davey has done the same on Tiger Army CDs.
Let’s see if I can get the story straight. Davey, Adam, Jade, Nick 13 and Geoff Kresege (the current bass player for Tiger Army) all went to High School together in Ukaih, California. At one point Nick 13, Jade, Adam and Geoff were in the band Influence 13. Geoff used to be the bass player for AFI before Hunter. Adam played drums for Tiger Army’s debut album. It’s all a bit confusing, but the friends shuffled around a bit before they settled into their current arrangements. Davey and Nick 13 both attended college at Berkley for a while until they decided to make music their full-time careers.
As long as I’m on a bit of a tangent, I should point out that Tiger Army is a terrific band. Their music falls under the category of psychobilly. I had the good fortune to see them perform live last summer at The Seattle Tattoo Festival. It was a fantastic experience. I was lucky enough to be standing right in front of Nick 13, probably only ten feet from him. They sound wonderful live; both Nick 13 and Geoff have a great stage presence. It’s also great fun to watch Geoff play the standup bass.
Ok, back to AFI. I really enjoyed the DVD. The band sounded great and kept the show interesting. There are quite a lot of quick video cuts made, but I thing it really suits the style of music. The lighting effect when Davey is doing the screaming bit towards the end of “Death of Seasons” is pretty cool. Everything is black with a white light shining on him where he is crouched down, so the only thing you see is Davey (it’s almost like he is glowing).
The extra titled “Familia” is great. “Despair Faction” members (name of the fan club) and the band members talk about various songs, lyrics and other assorted things. There is also an “easter egg” extra that you can find by using your right arrow button until you see the moth, on the lower right corner, highlighted, then press enter. The four videos you see were some of the clues needed to help unravel a secret. It ended up being a very elaborate scavenger hunt that resulted in tickets to an exclusive secret concert. They really go above and beyond for their fans.
Interesting Trivia:
AFI stands for A Fire Inside.
One of the songs they performed called “This Time Imperfect” is actually a hidden track on the “Sing the Sorrow” CD. It’s hidden after the end of “But Home is Nowhere”. There is some dead space between the two songs, so you have to fast-forward a bit to get to it.
Jade’s brother, Smith Puget, is their tour manager.
Davey and Hunter are vegans (me too!). Jade and Adam are vegetarians.
Both Davey and Jade are “Straight Edge“.
Davey and Jade have a side project, called “Blaqk Audio”.
Davey was also the vocalist for “Son of Sam”.
AFI will be releasing a new CD titled “Crash Love” on September 29, 2009. I can’t wait!
Jan
